“Next time, I will not vote for Karzai; I will vote for my donkey”: Civilian Anger at Family Deaths

Goli’s hand is twisted and scarred. His leg and chest is also a knot of scars, threading across his skin. His uncle, Haji, still has his foot in a bandage – two years after the ISAF forces mistakenly bombed his village. And his left leg is basically bone and sinew, a mere reminder of the healthy leg that he once used to farm his land.

Two years ago, ISAF forces bombed the village where Goli and Haji lived because the Taliban were nearby, crossing a road from one area to the next. The bombing began at 11pm. Haji described to me how he was sleeping in the courtyard of his house and “saw bright lights like lightning and a loud sound like a bomb.” The first bomb hit his neighbor’s house. Twelve people were killed there and seven injured. The second bomb was dropped on the house where Haji and Goli were living and six family members were killed. The firing and shelling then continued from a helicopter and from B52s and lasted for five hours. Twelve people were killed by the gunshots and rocket fire and fourteen people were injured.

In total, Goli and Haji lost sixteen members of their family. Two of Goli’s brothers were killed. One died alongside his wife and four of his children. One child remains from that family unit. The other brother was killed along with one of his daughters and three of his sons. The wife remains alive, but is severely injured. Goli and Haji were both severely burned and shrapnel became embedded in their bodies. Pieces of metal still remain under their skin. Goli also described how his sister was so injured that she can no longer eat by herself. And another of his brothers lost one leg and is paralyzed in the other. He is now in a wheelchair.

Another of Goli’s brothers was shot by the ISAF troops and was taken away to Kandahar Air Field (KAF) for questioning. His mother and father went to KAF to beg for his release and to insist that he was innocent. The military provided him with hospital treatment and released him after establishing that he was not a member of the Taliban. All the other injured family members were taken to the local hospital. The family had to sell half of their land in order to pay for the hospital bills.

Three days after the attacks, the Canadian troops came to the village and apologized for the deaths and injuries. They paid some money to the villagers. The injured civilians even received a visit in hospital from President Karzai and the governor. Every injured person received 20,000 Afghanis to help pay for the hospital bills. No money, however, was given to compensate for the deaths or for the loss of property and livestock.

Now this family has moved from their village because the security situation is just too unstable. Their houses and land are destroyed. Their livestock is dead. One brother occasionally returns to the land to collect some produce for the family to eat. Otherwise, the family makes a small amount of money by selling goods from a metal container in Kandahar city. As with so many injured and displaced civilians, they rely on the good-will of family and neighbors and pray every day that the fighting will end. At the end of the interview, Haji threw up his hands and declared: “I am angry. We have no hope from the government and no hope from the international community. Everyone has lied to us – the Canadians, the PRT, the government. I only trust God now.” Still, despite this anger, this injured man was still capable of making a joke – even if he said it with a rueful smile: “I was the first person to cast my vote for Karzai, but this time I will cast my vote for my donkey. It’s better.”